


The King Of Sand

by paperprincess



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, I don't edit, Idk how to tag things, M/M, Oblivious!Naruto, eventual angst, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-07-25 03:54:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16189553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperprincess/pseuds/paperprincess
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki grew up in a hotel on the seaside. One day Gaara applies for a job. It doesn't take long to fall in love, but what will Naruto do when the four seasons get in the way?~~~Based loosely on The Snow Queen, a story by Hans Christian Anderson. Very... very loosely.~~~But most of all, Naruto loved his fellow employees. Shizune, Tsunade’s wife and the accountant for the hotel, who tried to be stern, but always laughed at Naruto’s jokes. Or Choji, the chef, who cooked the best food on the planet. Ino, who kept the rooms neat and beautiful. He even loved Jiraiya, who wasn’t really an employee, just an old writer who lived there for no real reason. He said living in a hotel was easier than a house because he didn’t have to clean. Naruto guessed it must have been true, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it may also have had something to do with the bikini-clad guests that flooded the place in the summertime.But Gaara… like he said before… the second he set eyes on him, Naruto Uzumaki knew he had to get to know him. His heart stuttered in his chest, his hands tightened around the mop-handle he was holding. Green eyes met blue and Naruto just knew-





	1. The Boy With The Bandage

**Author's Note:**

> Stick with me here lmao
> 
> Naruto doesn't know what a crush is because he's /sheltered/

Gaara applied late in the spring. It wasn’t unusual for the hotel to get applicants that time of year, what, with teenagers needing gas money and being stuck in their parents vacation homes, or other seasonal work petering out as the weather warmed up... it  _ was _ unusual, however, for them to get hired. 

 

But the second Naruto set eyes on the boy, with a bandage on his head and eyeliner to hide the still obvious bags under his eyes, he begged Tsunade to hire him. He’d worked at the hotel for years, ever since he was old enough to hold a broom, and although Tsunade might never admit it, he had a little sway with his godmother. 

 

You can’t raise an orphan from the age of three and be  _ entirely _ unaffected by their charms, after all. 

 

There were a lot of benefits to growing up in a hotel. Naruto was a social butterfly, and he never got sick of hearing the stories the guests had to tell. Travellers who were just stopping by for the night on their way to other places (Like a strange young painter, who’d seemed fascinated with Naruto), or regulars who came up every summer. (The Hyuugas, for instance, made a habit of staying at The Leaf). 

 

But most of all, Naruto loved his fellow employees. Shizune, Tsunade’s wife and the accountant for the hotel, who tried to be stern, but always laughed at Naruto’s jokes. Or Choji, the chef, who always cooked the best food on the planet. Ino, who kept the rooms neat and beautiful. He even loved Jiraiya, who wasn’t really an employee, just an old writer who lived there for no real reason. He said living in a hotel was easier than a house because he didn’t have to clean. Naruto guessed it must have been true, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it may also have had something to do with the bikini-clad guests that flooded the place in the summertime.

 

But Gaara… like he said before… the second he set eyes on him, Naruto Uzumaki  _ knew  _ he had to get to know him. His heart stuttered in his chest, his hands tightened around the mop-handle he was holding. Green eyes met blue and Naruto just  _ knew _ that he was meant to be Gaara’s  _ best friend. _

 

“Tsunade… Tsunade… please, hear me out, you  _ have  _ to hire him. You  _ have _ to. I might  _ die _ if you don’t. Like, real life die. Please, please please ple-“

 

“Shut up and get out of my office. I’ll hire him if only it’ll get you the hell out of my  _ hair _ , damn it all,” Tsunade snapped, glaring at Naruto. Naruto grinned and jumped in the air. 

 

“Thanks, Tsunade! You won’t regret it, I just  _ know _ it!”

 

“Did you not hear me?” Tsunade snapped, trying to suppress the smile on her face, “I said get out. Eighteen years and I’m still not used to your antics, kid,”

 

“Thanks, Tsunade,” He said, more seriously. Tsunade shook her head, and looked out the window.

 

“I want you to run this place one day. I guess I should let you make a hiring decision at least once before I rot. Now go take his application to Shizune, She’ll call the kid,” The blonde woman smiled a little and balled the paper up, tossing it to him. He caught it and made a half hearted attempt to flatten it out. 

 

“Yeah, okay,” He laughed, and turned to leave. Tsunade made a ‘tch’ sound, and he grinned to himself as he went to drop off Gaara’s application. When he looked over it, he frowned.

 

_ No last name.  _ He smiled to himself, and for some reason, the thought that popped into his mind was ‘ _ That’s okay, I can share mine, _ ’

 


	2. Not Too Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nardo likes Redheaded Boys With Sad Tattoos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad Background Stories

Gaara’s first day was incredibly exciting. Well… for Naruto it was. They’d never had a bellhop before, it had always just been Naruto. Not that Naruto minded taking a break from cleaning to help the guests with their bags, but it was fun to say the word ‘bellhop’, and nice to have someone to talk to.

 

Gaara was a great listener. He seemed a little… taken aback, at first. Naruto had been told (mostly by Ino and Tsunade) that he was  _ a lot _ to deal with. But it didn’t take Gaara very long to adjust. Less long than it took some people, anyway. 

 

Soon enough he was smiling nervously at his jokes, and even responding- even if his responses were short. 

 

“My parents died in a car crash when I was two. I was in the car too, that’s why my face is all fucked up. But it doesn’t bug me,”

 

“No,” Gaara said quietly, looking away from Naruto and helping steer the baggage cart into the lift. Naruto laughed and looked at him.

 

“What do ya mean ‘no’? I’m serious! I’m an orphan!”

 

“No!” Gaara said, flushing and shaking his head. “I meant your face isn’t… it’s not messed up. I… I like it. I mean… I like the…” He gestured at his own cheeks as the lift doors slid closed. Naruto gaped at him for a moment, then smiled, bringing his hands to cover the scars.

 

“Ha! But people always say I’d be kinda handsome without ‘em,” He said. Gaara looked at him, and tilted his head. He blushed a little darker and looked at the ground.

 

“I think you look handsome the way you are. I like them. They’re like whiskers,”

 

“You don’t think I’m horribly disfigured?” He asked, blinking at him. Gaara glanced back up at him, and shook his head. He hesitated for a moment, then reached up and peeled off his bandage. scarred deep and inked in red was a Kanji. Naruto squinted at it for a second.

 

_ Love _ .

 

His heart jumped into his throat, and Gaara quickly covered it back up, smoothing the adhesive back over his skin. He looked away, and Naruto saw him swallow. 

 

“What…”

 

“I was a little kid. My dad was a little unhinged. My mom… she died giving birth to me. Hemorrhaging and other complications. But I guess he thought it was my fault. He said I killed love, wherever I touched it. He wanted to make sure I never forgot it, so… he tattooed me when I was four. I keep it covered, especially when I’m working or trying to get a job. Face tats are usually a deterrent for most people, whether or not they were consensual,”

 

“I think you’re beautiful,” Naruto said. The words slipped out without him really meaning to say them. They weren’t untrue, just unbidden. Gaara looked as surprised as he felt.

 

“Huh?”

 

“I think… I think you’re beautiful. Scar-tattoo and all. It’s a part of you. A part of your story. You don’t have to hide that here. Tsunade might seem like a hardass, but she won’t judge you. She wouldn’t even judge you if it was a gang tattoo, as long as you weren’t in the gang anymore,” Naruto shrugged. “You’re in the right place. Everyone is nice here. Well… Ino isn’t  _ nice _ , but she’s a good person,”

 

Gaara paused, and smiled his small, closed mouth smile, then looked away again. Naruto just grinned. 

 

“Anyway, service stops at six, so after that we’re free! It’s too cold to swim just yet, but do you wanna go walk on the beach with me? I’ll buy you a beer at this pub around the corner and we can hang out. It’ll be to celebrate! Scars and a new job!”

 

“Oh… Okay…” He hesitated again, then fidgeted. “I’m not old enough to drink, though,”

 

“Wait… How old are you?”

 

“I just turned twenty,” Gaara said hesitantly. Naru sighed with relief.

 

“Oh thank god. I thought for a second there you were like… fifteen or something. That’s okay. I’ll buy you a soda and I’ll drink both beers!” He grinned and leaned in, sticking his head through the worn brass bars of the baggage cart. “Sound like a plan?”

 

“Yeah… it does…” 

 

“Dope! Now you just gotta survive four more hours of lugging bags around and polishing brass. Not too bad, huh?”

 

“No…” Gaara said, “Not too bad at all,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Wanna Get Better, Bleachers


	3. Beers... and Rootbeer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and Gaara have a very serious conversation about magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magic like when your fucking soulmate walks into the hotel where you live and applies for a job

“And then Jiraiya fell right on his face and passed out,”

 

“Remind me to never go up against your mother in a drinking contest,” Gaara laughed, turning his bottle in his hands. Naruto grinned at him and bumped his shoulder. 

 

“I will, but I don’t call Tsunade my mum,” He ruffled his hair and looked up at the bar’s dusty ceiling, “I think of her more as an aunt or… a fairy godmother,”

 

“Why a fairy godmother? Why not just a regular old godmother?”

 

“Because she’s more than that. Most people’s godparents are kinda like… background figures? But Tsunade’s been there to give me everything I need, my whole life. So she’s more than just a godmother. She’s a little bit magic too,”

 

Gaara squinted at Naruto. Naruto shot him a wry smile.

 

“What? You gonna laugh at me?”

 

“Never,” Gaara said, seriously, “But I can’t tell if you’re pulling my leg. What kind of…” He reached forward and pulled Naruto’s ID toward himself, “Twenty one year old- What kind of twenty one year old says stuff like that?”

 

“The kind that has a messed up face and grew up in a hotel, I guess,” He laughed, finishing off his beer and flagging down the bartender for another. Gaara nodded slowly, as though Naruto had said something profound. Naruto laughed again. 

 

“Do you really believe in magic, Naruto?” Gaara asked slowly. Naruto turned so he could look at Gaara face to face. He considered him for a moment, then brought his glass to his bottom lip and rested it there.

 

“I do. But not in the big, Harry Potter way. More like… In little stuff. In what makes people who they are. In fate. The way the breeze blows just right when you need it most. I believe that you find the things you have to have when you gotta have them. That’s magic, isn’t it?”

 

Gaara didn’t say anything. He just smiled that closed mouth smile at Naruto and took a long swig from his root beer. Naruto drank from his own glass. They sat for a minute, looking straight into each other’s eyes, and then Gaara leaned forward.

 

“You know,” He whispered, like he was telling him a secret, with an expression on his face like he was breaking a rule, “I think you’re very, very right,”

 

“That might just be the first time anyone has ever said that to me,” Naruto laughed. Gaara… actually laughed too. Naruto’s lungs filled with something wriggling that was definitely not  _ air _ . Gaara  _ laughed. _ Low and breathy and  _ addictive _ . Naruto wanted to hear it every day for the rest of his  _ life. _

 

“I think that’s a damn crime,” Gaara said. Suddenly his green eyes flitted over Naruto’s features, and they filled with something indescribable… and dangerous. Naruto’s mouth suddenly felt dry. He swallowed, and Gaara raised his bottle to his lips slowly, not drinking, just holding the cold glass to his mouth and looking at Naruto like he was hungry.

 

“Do… do you want something to eat? There’s a menu here…”

 

“Hm?” Gaara hummed distractedly. Naruto cleared his throat.

 

“I was offering to buy you something to eat…”

 

“Oh no,” Gaara said, shaking his head, “I don’t want food. Thanks,” He took a swig and turned back toward the bar. Naruto felt a chill run down his spine and turned back toward the counter as well. He grasped his pint and began gulping it down like he hadn’t had a drink in days. Once he was done, he flagged down the bartender and paid. 

 

He stood, and held out his hand to Gaara, who looked up at him, surprised. He jerked his head toward the door.

 

“Wanna go for a walk?” 

 

Gaara swallowed the rest of his soda and nodded, grabbing Naruto’s hand and letting himself get pulled out of the door. They stumbled out onto the beach, Naruto kicking off his shoes and unbuttoning his uniform jacket as they made their way down to the water. Gaara took off his shoes too, but he had no uniform yet, so his long sleeved shirt was all the protection that he had from the bitter wind coming off the blackened sea. They walked along the water for a little while, the waves just licking their feet. Naruto had been right. It was cold as ice this time of year. Gaara flinched when it touched his skin, and it wasn’t long before he was shivering. Naruto hesitated, then he shrugged off his uniform jacket and threw it around Gaara’s shoulders. Gaara started, surprised, and stared up at Naruto.

 

“You can keep that until we get some in your size,” He said, shrugging and putting his hands in his pockets, “I have a million of em. Hell, I might still have a couple from a few years ago that would fit you,” He grinned, “I was a real late bloomer,”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Gaara said, rolling his eyes. Naruto hesitated.

 

“I didn’t mean it like that… I just meant I’m bigger than you. Sorry, didn’t mean it in a bad way,”

 

Gaara looked up at him and smiled ruefully. “Better a late bloomer than to not bloom at all,” 

 

“Uh, Gaara, you  _ definitely  _ bloomed. You just… didn’t grow big. Nothing wrong with that,” Naruto shrugged, then flexed. “We can’t all be gods of the gym,”

 

“Oh no, you aren’t one of those, are you?”

 

“Oh yeah, I do nothin but sick reps, bro,” He laughed, posing as he tensed his muscles, “I pump so much iron,”

 

Gaara pulled a face, but his eyes lingered a little over Naruto’s frame. Naruto relaxed and fell back into step beside Gaara. “But really, I am sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,”

 

“It’s okay, I know I’m scrawny,” He said. But Naruto didn’t think Gaara was scrawny. Gaara was thin, sure, but he was formed from finely corded muscle, just exactly what was probably useful in daily life. He wasn’t excessive in any way. He seemed like he was just… perfect.

 

“Not everyone has to be massive,” Naruto said. Gaara looked up at him curiously.

 

“But you like bigger guys, right?”

 

“I like everyone!” Naruto beamed. Gaara’s shoulders twitched a little, and he smiled. 

 

“Uh-huh,”

 

They walked a little way further, and then Gaara stopped. He pointed up the beach at a little shack that Naruto knew was a kind of group home for college kids in the area. “This is me,”

 

“Okay…” Naruto said, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest. Gaara hesitated.

 

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah…” Naruto hesitated. He felt strange, and hot all over. Something was off. Maybe he was catching something. Gaara smiled his closed mouth smile, and turned, walking up the beach in Naruto’s jacket. He looked back when he reached the door and waved. Naruto waved back half heartedly, trying to decode just what exactly it was that he was feeling.

 

There was no answer that he could find. 

 

He walked back to the hotel. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody's Lonely, Jukebox The Ghost


	4. Thing You Notice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is super observant. Like, super duper.

This ritual continued for two weeks before there was a break. They’d work, they’d get drinks afterward, and Naruto would walk Gaara home. Naruto noticed that there was almost always sand in Gaara’s hair. Naruto noticed Gaara got sunburned easily and never tanned. Not like Naruto, who was so dark from a mixture of genetics and constant sunlight that people sometimes asked “what” he was. A rude question he liked to answer as though he didn’t know what they meant.

 

Naruto noticed Gaara’s eyes lingered on him. He noticed it after he’d gotten too hot in his uniform jacket and taken it off, revealing the wife beater he had on underneath it as he polished the stair railing. Gaara had paused and watched him for a full minute before Naruto looked up and asked him if he needed help.

 

“Huh?” Gaara had said, flushing. 

 

“Something wrong? Do you need a hand?” Naruto asked, leaning back, one hand still on the railing, his grip stopping him from falling backward. Gaara cleared his throat and shook his head.

 

“No, sorry, I was just… daydreaming,”

 

Naruto had laughed.

 

Naruto noticed that Gaara always wore his uniform buttoned all the way up. Even when he was just cleaning, or waiting around for guests to pull their cars up so he could load their bags. It was something that Naruto  _ never  _ did, and had thought was dorky… that was, until he saw Gaara in his tailored jacket, with its high collar and careful lines. After that, he for some reason had the urge to thank Tsunade for picking them out. 

 

Naruto learned that Gaara was a useless handyman. He had no talent for electrical wiring, and he couldn’t tell the waterheater from the air conditioning unit if his life depended on it, but that was okay, because Naruto was perfectly capable of keeping the mechanical aspects of the hotel running smooth as silk. Gaara still came with him when he worked in the boiler room, though. Handing him tools and holding his uniform jacket, which he always took off down there, so it didn’t get dirty.

 

And Naruto realised, on a Saturday night, after they’d gotten drinks when the moon was full and the waves loud and lapping at their feet on the beach, that he had a massive crush on his godmother’s newest employee.

 

He found this out when Gaara had grabbed his collar and yanked him down into a searing kiss. For a moment, all time stopped, and the whole world shrank down to where their lips touched. And slowly, as his eyes slid closed, and he drew closer, an arm coming to wrap around Gaara’s waist, his hand coming up to tangle in that red hair, it expanded again. To the thrum of his heart against his ribs and the feel of a warm body against his own. To the soft hair under his calloused hand and the warm, wet tongue that traced over his lips as Gaara pressed deeper into the kiss. And the whole world was the man in his arms and Naruto felt amazed that he was so damn  _ lucky _ to get to have something like this for even one second, let alone however long that kiss lasted. (It could have been forever, it should have been forever) When they broke apart, they were both breathless, and Naruto’s eyes were hooded, and he couldn’t take his eyes off Gaara, with his bruised lips and his breathy, addictive laugh.

 

Yeah… Naruto realised just then that he probably had it pretty bad.

 

“Sorry,” Gaara panted, smiling up at Naruto, “I just… couldn’t take it any more,”

  
Naruto tried desperately to remember how to speak. “Uh… don’t… be sorry… I’m glad you… Can we do that again?” He finished, grabbing Gaara’s waist in both hands and pulling him flush against him. Gaara laughed and grabbed his face in his hands, long, thin fingers tracing over Naruto’s scars as he brought their lips together again. Naruto’s eyes slid closed, and damn, he was so  _ glad _ that Gaara wasn’t the type to wait for  _ him _ to figure things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Blue Sky, Electric Light Orchestra


	5. In The Middle Of Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto realises some things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah hah I don’t know what i’m doing

It was mid June and they were stupidly happy. There was no shortage of things to do in a seaside tourist town, especially when you were just starting a relationship with your smoking hot redhead coworker. Naruto took Gaara to the arcade and won him a ridiculously large plush raccoon. Gaara took Naruto to a club, and laughed at his terrible (but enthusiastic) dancing. At one point, Naruto had had to drag Gaara out into the alley in the back to kiss him, because  _ Who the hell gave him the right to wear a fishnet shirt? We came here from work. He had that thing on all day under that buttoned up uniform… _

 

Gaara liked ice cream, and Naruto liked popsicles. Gaara loved to lay out on the beach, but needed to reapply SPF 50 PA+++ every eighty minutes. Naruto laughed at him, and when they kissed it tasted like summertime. 

 

It was so new and exciting and  _ perfect. _ Naruto loved it when Gaara pushed him up against the wall in the boiler room and shoved his hands under his shirt, running his fingers over his sides and kissing him until he was drunk on it. Naruto loved it when he got to slowly unbutton that jacket, from the top down, as Gaara’s hands clutched the railing in the abandoned wing of the hotel. Naruto loved the way the look in Gaara’s eyes made heat pool in his stomach and something hitch just behind his navel. His mouth would go dry, and Gaara would smirk like he knew just what he was doing as he loaded up the baggage cart.

 

Naruto loved the way that fishnet shirt began making more and more frequent appearances after one day he let out a groan when he saw it. He loved how long it took for hickeys to fade from Gaara’s pale skin, and the way they just barely peeked out over his high, professional collar. Naruto loved it when Gaara stopped wearing the bandage on his forehead. 

 

Naruto didn’t take long before he loved Gaara. 

 

They were laying out on the beach, like they frequently did, when Naruto realised it. He was brushing Gaara’s red hair back from his eyes and tracing his features like he was trying to memorise every millimetre of his face, when Gaara smiled at him, and his heart stuttered, and he realised, with his whole being, all at once, that he was in love.

 

“What’s on your mind, Naruto?”

 

Naruto paused.  _ I can’t say it. Not this early. It’s only been a month. No one falls in love this fast.  _

 

“I just like you a whole bunch,” He said, smiling. Gaara smiled back. 

 

“I like you a whole bunch too,” And Gaara pulled Naruto down into a kiss that burned, and Naruto shifted himself so that he was bracketing Gaara against the soft sand. Gaara’s hands pulled Naruto’s shirt up, and he ran his fingers along his sides like he so often did. Naruto shivered, and hummed into Gaara’s mouth. They broke apart. 

 

“You can say no,” Gaara said calmly, “You obviously, obviously can absolutely say no… But… do you want to go back to the hotel and… you know...” He let the question hang in the air like smoke, unspoken and heavy.

 

“I literally have never wanted  _ anything _ so damn bad in my entire life,” Naruto whispered. Gaara smiled.

 

“Then let’s go,” 

 

So Naruto stumbled to his feet and pulled Gaara up into his embrace. He kissed him with all the needy desperation of a teenager, and then swept him up off his feet, holding the shorter man in his arms as he walked back to the hotel. Gaara couldn’t stop giggling into Naruto’s collarbone. 

 

“I can-“ He laughed, bringing his hand up to tangle with blonde hair, “I can  _ walk _ , Naruto!”

 

“I know, but I want to hold you,” Naruto said, smiling at Gaara. Gaara flushed, and hid his face against Naruto’s neck. 

 

Naruto only set Gaara back on his feet once they reached the patio of the hotel, and they stumbled into the place as quietly as they could. Naruto lead him to the lift, and Gaara pushed him in, shoving him into the corner and kissing him, bracketing him in with his hands on the support bars as he commanded Naruto’s mouth, demanding and heated. Naruto’s heart thrummed against his ribs like it was trying to escape him. All he knew was the feeling of Gaara’s breath and Gaara’s mouth and Gaara’s body against his. Gaara, leaving him overwhelmed, but somehow still wanting  _ more _ . 

 

Naruto whimpered, and he brought his hands tentatively to Gaara’s cheeks, closing his eyes as the shorter man leaned into him. He felt like this moment should last  _ forever _ , until the elevator doors slid open and he had to get Gaara into his room  _ right away. _

 

He grabbed Gaara’s hands off his sides as pulled him down the hallway, stumbling a little, kiss drunk and giggling. Naruto’s room was at the end of the hall, the only one on that level without a number. Naruto flattened himself against the cool, unyielding wood of the door and scrambled to unlock it as Gaara resumed running his hands over him, just light enough to send shivers all along Naruto’s body.

 

He’d only had two beers. There was no way he should have forgotten how  _ keys work. _ This was Gaara’s fault, for being so damn delicious and  _ distracting _ . 

 

Finally he got his accursed door open and practically tripped into his room, and Gaara stumbled in after him. He heard the door slam and suddenly he was pressed up against it again, Gaara was on his tip toes and pinning him still. 

 

Gaara’s lips were on his and Gaara’s hands were pulling his shirt up, over his stomach, and then Gaara’s lips weren’t on his anymore and that was  _ bad _ , but then they were back and he was shirtless now and that was very, very  _ good _ .

 

Gaara kissed his jaw again and Naruto let out a sigh. He felt Gaara’s lips twitch into a smile against his skin.

 

“You know you’re… you’re absolutely devious, right?” Naruto whispered, reaching down and grasping the smaller man’s hips, dragging him flush against his own feverish body. Gaara laughed, his heels snapping to the ground so he could keep his balance. Naruto stooped down and caught his lips again.

 

Gaara drew back, and Naruto began sliding his shirt up and over his head, revealing the expanse of pale skin underneath, a smattering of freckles on the shorter man’s shoulders taking him by surprise. He dipped his head down and pressed his lips to them, wanting to kiss every single one, wanting to feel every inch of skin that Gaara would let him touch. 

 

Gaara’s breath stuttered and Naruto’s every nerve lot on fire at once with the need to get that quiet mouth to  _ moan. _

 

Gaara hooked his hands into the waistband of Naruto’s trousers and pulled him off the door, turning him and pushing him further into the room.

 

Naruto tripped backward, stumbling and landing heavily on the bed, reaching out and dragging Gaara down on top of him, giggling and turning them over, so he was pinning Gaara against the screwed up sheets and blankets. Gaara smiled up at him, his eyes flicking up to his hair and slowly falling back down to his lips, where they stayed.

 

“I really, really want you,” Gaara whispered, reaching up and pushing Naruto’s hair back.

 

“I…” His heart fluttered, and he swallowed. “I want you too,”

 

“Then take me,” He said. Naruto hesitated, then ducked down and pressed his lips to Gaara’s softly, and sweetly.

 

“I… I’ve never…”

 

Gaara’s eyes shot wide. “Oh!”

 

“It’s weird, isn’t it?”

 

“No,” Gaara said, but Naruto rolled off of him and flopped down into the mattress.

 

“It’s weird, isn’t it?”

 

“How… how far have you gotten?”

 

“What we’ve done. I haven’t really done anything more than kissing with anyone. It’s not that I haven’t, you know… wanted to… it’s just. I guess it just wasn’t ever quite right,”

 

“So… not with girls either?”

 

“Nope. No one,” He sighed. “I’m a total virgin,”

 

Gaara let out a soft, breathy laugh, and Naruto looked over at him, surprised. Gaara propped himself up and leaned over Naruto.

 

“I’m not laughing at you, I promise,”

 

“What are you laughing at then?”

 

“I just really like you. And I think you’re cute. But as far as your sexual debut goes… I’d like it to be while you’re one hundred percent sober,”

 

“I’m not drunk!”

 

“I didn’t say you were. But… I just want to make sure this is what you want. We’ll leave this,” He said, trailing his fingertips along Naruto’s chest, then his stomach, then over his waistband and crotch, where he buried his hand between Naruto’s thighs, cupping his erection and smirking, “For later,” He bent down and kissed Naruto again, sliding his hand up and down briefly. Naruto whined and ground his hips upward, chasing pressure that Gaara wouldn’t give him. Gaara broke away and met his gaze, his eyes smouldering as he smirked. “You’re dangerous,”

 

“I’m dangerous?” Naruto hissed, “Me? You have  _ no _ idea… I’ve never wanted something so bad in my life,”

 

“I think I do,” Gaara said quietly, “Leaving tonight is going to be so hard…”

 

Naruto reached down, flattening Gaara’s hand against his dick and grinding upward again. “ _ I’m  _ so fucking hard. Don’t leave. We don’t have to have sex. Just… stay the night,”

 

Gaara hesitated, then nodded. “Let me call my sister so I can tell her it’s okay to lock the doors,”

 

“Oh.. okay. There’s a landline in the kitchenette,” Naruto said, pointing to hide the surprise of Gaara agreeing to stay. Gaara got up, and walked over to the counter and dialled a number. He mumbled a couple sentences into the receiver and then hung it up gently, before turning back to Naruto and considering him. Naruto propped himself up on his elbows and looked back.

 

“What?” He finally asked. Gaara smiled, tilting his head.

 

“I’m just…  _ happy _ ,” He replied, the tone of his voice surprised. Naruto scooted further up the bed and bounced a little, holding his arm out. 

 

“Well then come be happy over here. I hope you don’t mind cuddling, because you’re in for it now,” he said, smiling. Gaara laughed and padded over, unbuttoning his trousers and sliding them off, climbing into bed next to Naruto in his boxers. Naruto swallowed, but just dragged Gaara into his side and kicked his leg over him, pressing their foreheads together. 

 

“Hey,” He said, pressing a kiss to the tip of Gaara’s nose. Gaara smiled.

 

“Hey,” Gaara whispered, bringing his fingers up and tracing over Naruto’s scars with an almost reverent touch. Naruto smiled, and ran his fingers through Gaara’s hair. 

 

“Hi,”

 

Gaara laughed, and kissed him sweetly, his fingers brushing over his face, finding his jaw, then his neck. Naruto couldn’t help but indulge the warm feeling blooming in his chest. “Are you seriously going to sleep in those trousers?” Gaara whispered after another moment. Naruto glanced down, and then sighed.

 

“Well… no… but I was going to wait for my little problem to go away before I took them off,”

 

“It’s not a problem,” Gaara said, reaching down and unbuttoning his fly, then dragging the zipper down. Naruto sighed.

 

“Well now it’s definitely not going to go away,” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When The Day Met The Night, Panic! At The Disco


	6. The Plot Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto kisses his man. Other stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow they’re really happy! that’s not the kind of story that this is though. nothing comes easy.

Gaara fell asleep on Naruto’s chest, curled against him. Naruto smiled, running his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair and smiling down at the tattoo on his forehead. _Love._ _Damn right._

 

Eventually, he drifted off too. In his dreams, he sat in front of a mirror, and struggled to recognise the person who looked out from it.

 

When he awoke, Gaara was standing in the kitchenette, spooning tea bags out of cups and tossing them in the sink. Naruto stifled a yawn and smiled as he watched Gaara stir milk into the mugs and put the jug back in the mini fridge. 

 

“Hey,” Naruto said. Gaara turned to him and smiled. 

 

“You’re up,” He said, bringing the mugs over and setting them on the bedside table. Naruto sat up as Gaara leaned down, and Naruto caught his chin in his hand, pressing their lips together softly. 

 

“Yeah,” he said, smiling and letting Gaara straighten up. The shorter man handed Naruto a mug and then settled beside him, tucking himself neatly into his side. Naruto smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “so are you,”

 

“I don’t normally sleep at all, I haven’t slept as well as I did last night in… We have another hour before we have to go to work…” Gaara said, sipping his tea (Naruto almost winced, it was still practically boiling).

 

“Yeah we should probably get going now, with the commute and everything, don’t want to be late,” He said, smiling down at the shorter man and running his hands through his hair. 

 

Gaara rolled his eyes and smiled. “Yeah, maybe we can carpool,”

 

Naruto laughed and ducked down, pressing their lips together again and sighing.

 

“I’m so glad you work here,”

 

“I’m so glad you work here,” Gaara laughed, “And live here,”

 

They spent the better part of the next hour cuddling in bed, talking about nothing in particular and kissing lazily, abandoning empty mugs on the floor and tangling their limbs together. Eventually Naruto tore himself away, and rummaged through his closet, pulling out some old clothes for Gaara to borrow and tossing them onto the foot of the bed before getting dressed himself. 

 

Gaara pulled on the uniform and buttoned it up, smiling as Naruto paused to watch. When his collar was fastened completely, he strode over to Naruto and did up the first few buttons of his jacket, leaving the top four undone, the way Naruto normally wore it. Naruto smiled.  _ Gaara counted the number of buttons I leave undone. _

 

They went downstairs together, and clocked in at the same time. The work day dragged on. There was always something keeping the two apart, and Naruto was beginning to feel on edge, and a little worried that they wouldn’t get to talk at all that day. When he went on his lunch break, he found his boyfriend and hopped on the baggage cart he was returning to the back room.

 

“Hey! I wanna take you out tonight. Do you wanna go to the bar?”

 

“Sure,” Gaara said, smiling at him, “That sounds great,”

 

“I’m not drinking a drop this time,” Naruto said, making steady eye contact with the shorter man, “I just want pub food,”

 

“Naruto, it’s okay if you drink, I just want to…” He flushed, “I’m not in a rush, Naruto,” He lowered his voice, “Sex isn’t all I want from you. I want… I want all of you, and sure, sex is great, but it’s more important to me that we have a good time together, no matter what we’re doing,”

 

“I have a good time with you sober as a nun,” Naruto said, walking toward Gaara on the platform of the cart and sticking his head through the bars, bringing their faces close. “I just wanna be around you,”  _ I love you. I’m in love with you. Head over stupid heels. _

 

“I wanna be around you too,” Gaara said, popping up onto his toes as he continued to push the cart and planting a kiss square on his lips. “But you have to get off the cart so I can put it away,”

 

“No, I have a better idea,” Naruto laughed, dragging Gaara up onto the platform and turning around, grabbing the front bars and kicking the cart along like a skateboard. Gaara squeaked and grasped the top bars as Naruto laughed, skidding the cart around a corner and kicking off again. 

 

“We’re going to crash!”

 

“I’ve been doing this since I was eight!” Naruto laughed, glancing quickly at a terrified Gaara, “We’ll be fine. We’re almost there anyway,”

 

They pulled up at the storage room and Naruto shoved the door open, hitting the light switch and edging the cart into the room. He turned, still standing on it, and caught Gaara around the waist. 

 

“I just bought you about two minutes to kill,”

 

“Hmm,” Gaara smiled, stepping forward on the platform, “and what do you want to do with those two minutes?”

 

“I can think of a thing or two,” Naruto laughed, dipping his head down to kiss Gaara. Gaara giggled as Naruto kissed his face, then along his jaw, unbuttoning his collar and sucking a hickey just below it, eliciting a little gasp from Gaara. 

 

Thin, pale fingers tangled in Naruto’s hair, and Naruto smiled as he continued to unbutton that jacket. Hiding hickeys under that damn uniform was quickly becoming an obsession, he realised as he sucked a bruise onto Gaara’s collarbone. 

 

“Uh, Naruto,” Gaara whispered, leaning against the brass bar and sighing as Naruto ran his fingers through his hair, brushing his thumb against his tattoo, humming against his skin. “I’m going to have makeout hair if you don’t slow down,”

 

“Good,” Naruto murmured, looking up at Gaara almost reverently, “I wanna see you run around here all sexed up and blushing all cute until I get you in my bed tonight. I want everyone to know that what’s under this buttoned up uniform is spoken for,”

 

Gaara laughed his breathy laugh. “Oh, never pegged you as the possessive type Uzumaki,”

 

“Never had a reason to be possessive until now,” He laughed, biting another little bruise into Gaara’s neck and grinning. Gaara looked at him, his eyes hooded, his face flushed. There was that look again. That hunger that made Naruto’s brain stop working properly.

 

“I’m going to ruin you,” The man mumbled, grabbing his face and pulling him up into another searing kiss. Naruto hummed again and melted into the shorter man’s embrace. 

 

The rest of the day was even worse than the first half. Naruto has never seen time drag on so long. Every time he caught a glimpse of Gaara, his ruffled appearance, his little smirk, his stomach hitched. He wanted to feel his skin under his hands, his lips, his body. It was really not conducive to productivity. 

 

When, finally, service ended, Naruto waited by the punch cards for Gaara. When, finally, Gaara clocked out, he leapt on him. He dragged him into the nearest utility closet and pushed him in and up against her wall, thrusting his hands up under his jacket and pressing their lips together with more energy that was decent. Gaara hummed happily against him.

 

“Are we going out? Or going upstairs?” Gaara asked, his breath hitching as Naruto kissed his way along his jaw and up to his ear, nipping at it playfully. “I’m good with either, just for the record,”

 

“However good skipping to the end of the night does sound,” Naruto said, his voice husky, “I think we may want to go out for dinner first. The sound of my stomach growling is decidedly not sexy,”

 

“I don’t know. I think everything about you is sexy,” Gaara laughed, wrapping his arms around Naruto’s neck and smiling up at him. 

 

“You’re crazy,” Naruto laughed, planting another kiss on his lips and smiling back. “Let’s go grab something to eat,” He quickly unbuttoned his jacket and dumped it over the handle of the vacuum they were sharing the utility closet with.

 

He lead him out of the hotel and onto the beach, laughing as they struggled through the soft white sand. They walked along the water and to the bar, where they ordered food and ate slowly, taking their time and talking about their day. Naruto couldn’t help himself as he hooked his ankle around Gaara’s leg and pulled it forward, so that their calves brushed together under the table as they talked. Naruto smiled and leaned his chin on his hand as Gaara talked about some rude guests he’d had to help with their bags, and their noisy kids. He got a little lost looking at the man’s face, searching for some nonexistent flaw. 

 

“Are you done?” Gaara asked, smiling. Naruto started, looking down at his cold chips.

 

“Yeah, yeah, here,” He threw down a couple twenties and grabbed Gaara’s hand. He lead him out of the pub and back onto the beach. 

 

He hummed, drawing Gaara into his chest and turning them on the spot, making Gaara laugh as he picked the shorter man up and twirled around. He lost his balance and toppled over in the sand, dragging Gaara down on top of him. 

 

Gaara laughed, and rolled off of him, laying next to him and looking up at the sky, just beginning to change colour as the sun began to set. He looked over at Naruto.

 

“You’re something I thought I’d never have,”

 

Naruto reached up and brushed his red hair out of his eyes. “I’m glad you do have me, though,”

 

Gaara tangled his pale fingers with the dark ones at his face. He pressed a kiss to Naruto’s wrist, quickening the pulse there, and met his gaze with that heat and hunger that only Gaara could possess. “I am too,”

 

Naruto felt his heart stutter.  _ Tell him.  _ “Gaara, I-“

 

But Gaara suddenly flinched and brought his hand over his face, letting out little pained groan. He sat up, and Naruto followed him.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Gaara said, sounding a little irritated, “I just got some… sand in my eye or something…” He rubbed his eye and scowled, blinking and then looking over at Naruto. “Ugh, I hate it when this happens,”

 

Naruto inched closer, catching Gaara’s face in his hands and peering into his eyes. He couldn’t see anything. His left eye looked a little red, though. 

 

“Is there anything there?” Gaara asked, frowning as his eye watered. Naruto shook his head.

 

“I can’t see it,” He said hesitantly, “But the light is kinda bad,”

 

Gaara drew back, getting back to his feet. “I’m going to go home and put in some eye drops,” He said, dusting himself off. Naruto looked up at him, surprised, before scrambling to up after him.

 

“Oh okay. Do you want me to wait, or I could meet you back at the hotel-“

 

“No, I’m… I’m feeling kind of weird, Naruto. I think we should just call it a night. I’ll see you tomorrow,” He said. Naruto’s heart sank in his chest. 

 

“Oh, yeah, of course. I’ll see you later,”

  
“Bye,” Gaara said, bringing his hand back up to his eye and walking away without looking back. Naruto ran his fingers through his hair and frowned.  _ Weird _ . He thought. He didn’t know how long he stood there, ignoring the setting sun and looking out over the beach, at the footprints Gaara has left behind.  _ Why do I feel like something really bad just happened? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She Said, Sundara Karma


	7. Missing Something (Thief Unknown)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto realises that something is amiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO EXCITED FOR THE ANGST

Naruto woke up to an empty bed, and couldn’t help but wonder how one night with someone by his side could make his whole room feel so cold and empty. He ran his hand over the sheet where Gaara had lain the night before and frowned. 

 

_ Maybe I should call… but I don’t think I have his number.  _

 

It was ridiculous, because Gaara would be there soon for his shift anyway. There was no reason to call at seven in the morning and wake up his whole house when he’d see him in a half hour. He rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow Gaara had used. It still smelled a little like him. He couldn’t help the smile that played his lips.

 

He’d talk to Gaara today. He’d check that he was feeling alright. Naruto sat up and swung his legs out of bed. He made his breakfast and got dressed, before sliding down the staircase railing and walking to the staff room and clocking in. He flipped through some paperwork, loitering by the clock and waiting  for Gaara to show up. Not that he ever did paperwork- in fact he was actively encouraged to stay the hell away from paperwork.

 

Gaara finally walked in the door ten minutes late, which was weird, because his house was only a five minute walk away- but that wasn’t even the strangest thing about it. 

 

Gaara was looking even more exhausted than usual. His eyeliner was smudged, one side smeared out in an almost straight line toward his temple. His mouth looked bruised, like someone had punched him, and he had a nasty glare on his face that Naruto hadn’t ever seen there before. He didn’t meet Naruto’s eye as he walked in and selected his punch card. Naruto set the folder down.

 

“Morning,” He said cautiously. 

 

Gaara grunted by way of a response.

 

“... How are you feeling?”

 

Gaara turned at glowered at him. “Fine,”

 

Naruto blinked, taken aback. He set his hand on the table. “Hey, Gaara, I don’t know what’s going on but this doesn’t seem like you… Do you wanna talk for a second?”

 

“No,” He growled, walking toward the door. As they drew level, Gaara’s eyes caught Naruto’s, and Gaara paused, “and you don’t  _ know me _ ,” 

 

Then Naruto’s boyfriend stomped out of the door, and left Naruto wondering if that forbidding feeling he had the night before was justified.

 

The day stretched on, and Naruto couldn’t help but go back over everything he’d done over the last few days, wondering if he did something to upset Gaara, wanting to apologise if he had. He couldn’t think of anything.  _ This is getting bad. Leave him alone if that’s what he wants. You’re a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.  _

 

And so Naruto made the decision to let Gaara come to him when he wanted to talk things out.

 

The problem was that he didn’t. For three days he didn’t. Naruto was forced to stew and wonder what he had done wrong as Gaara skulked around the hotel, not speaking to anyone at all and making everyone, including the guests, feel uneasy.

 

Naruto was uneasy. Beyond wanting everything to be okay between them as a… whatever they were, he wasn’t sure they were still a couple… he just wanted Gaara to be okay, and happy. 

 

Finally, on the fourth day, after they had clocked out, he gave in. He followed Gaara out onto the sand, where he was beginning to walk home, and caught his wrist.

 

“Gaara! what happened with you? You just made this complete one eighty and started acting like a… a…” He looked around, as though he’d find an appropriate word written in the sand, “An I don’t know! Not very nice person!”

 

Gaara turned and glared at him. “You don’t know me,”

 

“I know you. I may not have known you for long, but I know you. And this… this isn’t you,”

 

Gaara pulled his arm from Naruto’s grip, and turned to face the waves, crashing against the shore. He looked lost. His eyes were empty. There was none of that fire or that hunger that had been so present in them before. They were cold, and empty. 

 

“Gaara-“

 

“Go away,” Gaara snapped. He began walking out to the water. He unbuttoned his jacket and let it fall to the ground, striding out toward where the waves were heaving the sand away from the shore. 

 

“What are you doing?” Naruto said, panicked.  _ The undertow is too strong right now. He’ll get caught in it. There’s been a warning for the last two days. _

 

“Going swimming,” Gaara replied coldly, stepping into the water without taking off his shoes. 

 

“Gaara! Stop!”

 

But he was wading out into the water, his eyes unfocused. Naruto swore and yanked his shoes off, hopping on the spot. Gaara slid away into the water. Naruto began counting.

 

“Fuck!” Naruto hissed, yanking his jacket off, popping off half the buttons in his hurry, then running out into the water.  _ One.  _  As soon as he could, he kicked off, paddling toward Gaara in the dark water.  _ Two _ . Naruto couldn’t see him, but he kept swimming, out into the ink black water.  _ Three. _ Desperation welled up in his chest.  _ Four _ .  He drew upright, looking around him.  _ Five.  _ “Gaara!” He called.  _ Six. _

 

His only answer was the giant swell of the seventh wave. It drug him under the ocean’s surface. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> House By The Sea, Moddi


	8. The Walk and The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto washes up on the beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY IM TAKING A HIATUS FROM ALL FIC FOR NANOWRIMO I WILL BE BACK I TRIPLE DOG SWEAR

Naruto awoke on the beach, with water lapping at his legs. He groaned, his head aching and his body sore. He rolled over into her back and squinted around. It felt colder than it should have, and there was something sharp in the air. He blinked, trying to clear his head.

 

It was cold, colder than it should’ve been for the end of july. He struggled upward, but froze when he felt something sharp at his back.

 

“It’s not often that I get my hands on a castaway,” A cool drawl came from overhead. Naruto turned his head slowly, looking up to see a man with chaotic dark hair and a shirt unbuttoned past his rib cage holding a sword right over his heart. His first idiot thought was  _ holy shit, a pirate. _ But he quickly brushed it aside and rolled over, raising his hands submissively.

 

“Hey man, sorry if this is a private part of the beach, I musta got knocked out… do you know how far away the Leaf Hotel is? Have you seen a red headed guy around here?” 

 

The man tilted his head, his black eyes trailing from Naruto’s scarred face down to his bare feet. He stepped forward and brought the sword to his chest, trailing the tip slowly up his chest until it was resting under his chin, pressed up against his throat.

 

“Are you… are you a human?” The man asked with interest, his eyes flashing red. Naruto swallowed.

 

“A-are you… are you n-not human?” 

 

“Get up,” The man said, his shirt blowing a little wider in the breeze. He twitched the tip of the sword. “Go on, get up!” 

 

Naruto scrambled to his feet. “Who are you?” He asked, trying to quash the fear welling up in his chest. The man smirked.

 

“Sasuke Uchiha,” He stepped a few paces forward, keeping the sword between them. “Captain Sasuke Uchiha, to you,” 

 

Naruto swallowed thickly, and the words tumbled from his mouth without him really meaning to say them. “Are you a pirate?”

 

Sasuke’s smirk deepened slightly. “In… a manner of speaking,” He reached behind him, and Naruto, distracted by the sword at his neck, didn’t catch himself in time to avoid the shackles that locked around his left wrist. Sasuke stepped closer again and deftly shackled his other wrist. “And you’re a prisoner. Turn around,” Naruto let out a short breath and tried to manage a smile.

 

“I can’t turn ‘round with a sword at my throat, dude,” He said, “I’ll need it to you know… Not be touching my skin,”

 

Sasuke pulled the sword’s sharp edge just barely away from Naruto’s skin, but kept a firm grip on the shackles, pulling them a little so that Naruto was forced a little closer to him. “I don’t tolerate a smart mouth, especially not from a human,”

 

“It’s a good thing my mouth is dumb as hell then. What exactly are you, if you aren’t a human?” Naruto asked. Sasuke’s red eyes scanned his face again.

 

“Turn around, human,” Naruto turned, and was promptly poked in the back by the sword. “Move,” 

 

“You can ask nicely, damn,” Naruto growled, stomping forward. He was walked off the beach entirely, and into some thick woods.  _ How far did I float? There’s no woods around the Leaf, and these trees are old. _

 

They were walking for a long time before anything else happened. Then two people dropped out of the canopy overhead. Naruto drew to a halt, earning him a sharp prod from Sasuke’s sword and making him yelp and glower over his shoulder at the man. 

 

“What’s this, Sasuke?” A red haired woman in glasses asked, looking Naruto up and down. A lithe, white haired man tilted his head and did the same, though, where the woman looked rather forbidding, he looked entertained. 

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” The man cooed, “He’s found a human. Why else would he have kept the lil guy alive this long?”

 

Naruto bristled. “Little? I have at least twenty five pounds on you, scrawny,” He snapped. The man smiled, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Naruto felt a chill down his spine.  _ Also not human, then. _ He looked over the newcomers again, more carefully, this time. They were both also dressed like stereotypical hollywood pirates. The man even carried a sword, longer and larger than Sasuke’s, strapped to his back. He swallowed nervously, and the man’s sharp smile broadened.

 

“Well. That may be true,” He said smoothly, “But you’re not in the position to show off that bulk of yours,” His hand raised up to rest on his sword hilt and he winked at Naruto. Somehow it was threatening. Sasuke’s sword poked him in the back again.

 

“Bastard! Stop prodding me with that damn thing! Get your friends out of my way and I’ll walk,”

 

“Suigetsu, Karin! Out of the way,” 

 

Karin stepped aside quickly, but Suigetsu laughed and tilted his head before stepping back only a little, eyeing Naruto up as he did so. “Oh, he’s spunky. We’re gonna keep him, right Sasuke?”

 

“Keep me?” Naruto said, his voice cracking embarrassingly, “What? Like a pet? You can’t keep me!”

 

“I don’t think that’s your call to make,” Sasuke said coldly, “Now walk,” He poked him in the back again. Naruto stumbled forward.

 

“Uh, no! No, people  _ don’t  _ keep people. My family is gonna look for me, you know,” Naruto said, scrambling for reasons he should be let go, “And my moms will absolutely call the cops,”

 

“And what would the human police do here, exactly?” Suigetsu teased, falling into step behind Sasuke, “Shoot us? Arrest us? No human can just show up here, human,”

 

Naruto hesitated. Whatever was happening, he didn’t like it. He glanced over his shoulder at the three behind him and narrowed his eyes. “Where is here, exactly?”

 

“Your new home,” Sasuke replied coolly. Naruto frowned. 

 

“No!”

 

“I don’t think he wants to stay with us, Sasuke,” Suigetsu said. Karin huffed.

 

“Will you stop running your damn mouth for ten minutes?” She growled, elbowing him hard in the side, “What’s the human called?”

 

“I didn’t ask,” Sasuke said. The sword poked Naruto again. “What’s your name?”

 

“There are better ways to ask that!” Naruto snarled, “My name is Naruto,”

 

“Naruto,” Sasuke said. The way the word rolled out of his mouth made Naruto shiver.  _ This is definitely not a good situation to be in. _

 

Eventually, Suigetsu seemed to grow bored. He turned to Karin and began teasing her. “Oh, Karin, will you stop staring at Sasuke’s ass for five minutes or get a room?”

 

“I’m not staring at his ass! You stupid bastard! Why are you even thinking about something like that? Disgusting pervert!”

 

“I’m not the one eyefucking the captain from behind, loser,”

 

“Eye-!! Eye fucking? Who’s eyefucking- No one is eyefucking anyone! You’re the one who’s eyefucking the captain, nasty little- ugh!” 

 

“You just did it again,” 

 

There was a thud and a quick clanging noise. The sword left Naruto’s back for a moment and Naruto glanced over his shoulder. 

 

Karin had a thick iron chain wrapped around Suigetsu’s neck and was garrotting him, her teeth gritted and her face pulled back into a snarl. Suigetsu was flailing, one hand falling back and gripping Karin’s shirt so tightly it tore, the other scrabbling at his throat. Sasuke was watching this with a detached, bemused expression. He made no move to save Suigetsu. Naruto looked down in horror as Suigetsu’s face turned a nasty shade of purple.

 

“Stop! You’re killing him!” He said, rushing forward and grasping her chain in both hands as well as he could with them shackled together. He yanked back on it, giving Suigetsu enough space to fall to the ground coughing before letting go and stumbling back. 

 

“He wouldn’t have died,” Karin said, coiling her chain back up around her wrist and hiding it under her loose sleeve.

 

“What? You strangling him  _ wouldn’t  _ have killed him? Do I look like a dumbass?” Naruto snapped at her, narrowing his eyes. She cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

 

“He’s not mortal,” Sasuke said, sheathing his sword for the first time since Naruto had met him and looking pensive. Naruto frowned.

 

“Then what is he? What are all of you?” 

 

Suigetsu rolled over so he was flat on his back and smiled up at Naruto. “I’m the rain,” He said hoarsely. He sat up and cocked his head. “You know, the kind that chills ya bone deep?”

 

Karin rolled her eyes. “I’m the chill in the morning, and the warmth in the afternoon,” She said coldly. “And I’m somehow still not the most dramatic person here,”

 

Naruto turned to Sasuke, who was frowning a little at his subordinates. Naruto cocked an eyebrow at him. He sighed, looking exasperated. 

 

“I’m the Autumn Robber,” He snapped, “and I’m growing impatient,”

 

“Okay? What am I supposed to do about it?”

 

Sasuke grasper Naruto’s arm and pushed him forward again. “Walk,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Punches, Bryce Fox


	9. The Key To It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juugo talks to Nardo about what’s going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey i’m back from Nano hope you guys keep readin

Naruto was not happy about his current situation. Not only in the fact that he had no clue what was going on, but also in the fact that he was chained to a tree, seated next to a massive, orange haired, brick wall of a man and watching Karin throttling Suigetsu again. Sasuke was sharpening his sword slowly, and the sound was violently unpleasant. Naruto scowled and felt at the shackles binding him to the tree. Suigetsu passed out, and Karin straightened up, her chest heaving, her hair clinging to her face. She pushed it back, her chains rattling as she did. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

 

“Why keep me prisoner?” He finally asked, causing the three conscious pirates to look around at him. Sasuke’s eyes flashed dangerously. Naruto, however, pressed on. “Why keep me here if you’re really a  _ season _ ?”

 

Sasuke sheathed his sword and considered Naruto, rising one arm on the back of his chair as he considered him thoughtfully.

 

“If I keep a human here, in my territory, it means that I can, potentially, reign forever. Recently Summer has been encroaching on my space, and having you here would be a good way of preventing that from continuing,”

 

“How does that work?” He asked sharply. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. 

 

“Not that I have to tell you anything,” He snapped, “Or that you’ll understand, given that you seem as thick skulled as any human ever born, but the human soul is a valuable asset, and something we all lack,” He gestured lazily at himself and his henchmen. “An unfortunate function of being immortal,” he added, slumping back into his chair as though the effort of explaining this had exhausted him. Karin perked up.

 

“Maybe we should go get something to eat, don’t you think, Captain?” She suggested eagerly. Suigetsu groaned and sat up, rubbing his neck.

 

“I could do food,” He rasped. Sasuke frowned, but nodded, getting to his feet. 

 

“Juugo,” He barked, startling the man sitting beside Naruto, “Watch the human. We’ll be back soon,”

 

Juugo nodded, and they all left, Suigetsu starting in on Karin again, even as he rubbed his throat. Naruto watched them go with narrowed eyes. Once they were out of sight, he turned to Juugo. 

 

“So,” He began, eyeing the man’s rusty orange hair and muscular frame, “What are you, then, if the others are rain and weather?”

 

Juugo turned to him and blinked. “I’m the way the leaves change. I suppose, in a way, you could say that I’m death,” The man seemed sad at the thought, running his thumb over his knuckles absentmindedly.

 

Naruto considered that for a moment. Then he shook his head. “You aren’t death. The trees only change colour and shed their leaves so they can survive the winter and stuff, right? So if you’re what makes the leaves change, you’re more like survival,”

 

Juugo nodded. There was a few minutes of silence, then he turned back to face Naruto. “You don’t want to stay here, do you?”

 

Naruto shook his head. “Not even a little. I’m trying to find my boyfriend,”

 

“Who’s your boyfriend? Why’s he lost?”

 

Naruto looked at his bare feet. “Oh. My boyfriend’s name is Gaara. He’s this really quiet, sweet guy, and he’s got the best smile, and the greatest sense of humour. He likes to dance but doesn’t like people looking at him, even me, but I mean, you really can’t look anywhere else. Or, I can’t. And… I love him. I haven’t even told him yet. I know it’s too soon, but, I mean, when you know, you know,” Naruto brought his knees up toward his check and rested his chin on them, “And he’s lost because… something happened. He started acting different all of a sudden, and then he just… jumped into the damn ocean. I’m worried about him,”

 

Juugo paused again, looking down at his clasped hands. “I think that your boyfriend is with the summer,” 

 

Naruto looked back over at him. “The summer?”

 

Juugo nodded solemnly. “I think that the summer had a similar idea to the captain. They recently took a mirror that was supposed to be shared equally amongst the seasons, and refused to pass it on. From what I gather, your lover might just be another stolen artifact that he is attempting to garner power from,”

 

Naruto frowned. “So how do I get him back?” he asked, yanking his shackles and feeling them bruise his wrists. Juugo sighed.

 

“I don’t know that you can,”

 

“I didn’t ask what your opinion on my abilities was,” Naruto snapped, “I asked how I get Gaara back,”

 

Juugo looked at him, and then nodded again. “You’ll have to move west, toward winter, and find your way through each of the seasons in order to get to summer’s territory. Once you get there, you might,  _ might _ , be able to convince your boyfriend to come home. If you can, then the summer will be forced to let him return to the mortal world with you. But I’ll warn you here and now, this isn’t going to be easy,” 

 

“I didn’t ask for easy. I asked for directions. I don’t care if it’s easy. I’m getting Gaara back,” He looked at Juugo, then around at the forest. “Can I get you to let me go?”

 

Juugo narrowed his eyes. “I would never, ever betray my captain,” He said sharply. Naruto bit his tongue and was about to start pleading when Juugo reached over and pressed a key into Naruto’s palm. “I will however fall asleep tonight, along with the other three, and if in the morning I find that my keys were stolen and the prisoner is missing, it’ll be a tragedy I can’t do anything about,”

 

Naruto gave Juugo a small smile. “Thanks,”

 

“Don’t thank me because you managed to escape all on your own,” Juugo said, leaning back against the tree and looking up at it. The leaves overhead began to fall gently toward them, “I hope you can get your boyfriend back. This is no place for humans,”

 

Naruto looked up at the falling leaves too. “No,” he said quietly, “It isn’t,”


	10. Like Sleep To The Freezing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh No... Things Go According To Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey i’m working on my christmas stuff so i’m sorry this chapter took so long

Naruto watched as they each fell asleep. Juugo first, still beside him, tucked himself under a thick blanket and drifted off peacefully. 

 

Then Karin, slowly dropping her chains from her sleeves and leaving them coiled in either side of her, in a seconds reach, in case she needed them. She aimed one last half hearted kick at Suigetsu, and then curled on her side and fell asleep. Suigetsu waited a minute, then threw a blanket over her.

 

He was next, pulling a blanket over his shoulders and flumping down nearest to where Sasuke sat, muttering a quick ‘goodnight, captain,’ before beginning to snore.

 

Sasuke took ages. He fixed his red eyes on Naruto, surrounded by his sleeping team, and waited. Naruto kept his gaze, squeezing Juugo’s key firmly into his palm. Sasuke brought one hand up to his face and ran his thumb along his bottom lip thoughtfully. 

 

“You could very well be what I need,” He mused, looking Naruto in the face but looking like he didn’t see him at all. Naruto wrinkled his nose.

 

“Oh is that so?” He asked sharply. Sasuke nodded slowly.

 

“If I’m to create an everlasting autumn I need a human soul to occupy my realm. You have a human soul. It’s almost simple in the way this works out,”

 

“Oh, simple, huh? My kidnapping works out really neat for you, does it?”

 

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “You’d rather it be summer? Or winter? I’m  _ mild _ compared to my counterparts, Naruto. We could get along. You don’t have to be my prisoner forever,”

 

“Oh, that’s a relief. That’s almost as good as not being a prisoner at all,”

 

“There’s no point in maintaining a difficult position. you may as well just accept where you are and learn to deal with it,”

 

“Whatever you say,  _ Captain _ ,” Naruto said, squeezing Juugo’s key even tighter. Sasuke frowned.

 

“Hn,” He settles back, and closed his eyes. “Hopefully you’ll see reason soon enough,”

 

Naruto didn’t reply. He watched intently as Sasuke drifted off to sleep. He waited until the man’s breathing was even and the whole forest seemed to grow quiet. 

 

Then he fiddled with his shackles, unlocking them and dropping the key. He stood, and padded away as quietly as possible. 

 

He headed west, keeping as close to silent as he could at first, but when he could no longer see the camp, and he felt like he was well out of earshot, Naruto broke into a run. His bare feet struck the soft forest ground hard with every step, and with every heavy footfall, he felt the air grow colder. 

 

By the time the sun began to rise behind him, snow was catching in Naruto’s eyelashes, and his feet were so cold they ached. He cleared the forest, and stumbled out into a thick layer of powdery, fresh snow. He paused, his breath rising in a fog before him. He looked around. 

 

“Winter,” He whispered to himself, before pressing on, tucking his arms in to try to protect himself from the biting cold. It felt like hours, and maybe it was hours, before the cold really overtook him. He fell over, down into the snow, and felt his eyes grow heavy. He’d run all through the night. He was so tired. His eyelids were heavy, and they fell closed. Sleep came, and embraced him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cherry Wine, Hozier


	11. The Cold Will Make You Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooooo sorry it's been so damn long guys my big fic is eating all my time and energy like potato chips and I'm also a damn disaster. We god a little bit of a sad chap today but this is where the bulk of the ~~plot~~ comes in so like pray for my two braincells lmao

Naruto drifted in and out of consciousness. He saw a dark figure lean over him, scooping him up.

 

He felt heavy footsteps as someone carried him. He looked up, his vision swimming, and saw large antlers protruding from either side of the person’s head, through the hood pulled low over their face. He swallowed thickly. 

 

“Are you the devil?”

 

“Close enough,” Came a low drawl. Naruto nodded.

 

“Okay,” He slurred as he fell back asleep. 

 

When he woke up, he was in a large, comfortable bed, covered in animal furs and soft knitted blankets. He sat up, groggily shaking his head and looking around him. The room he was in was bright, but he couldn’t really see a lightsource, and the walls were made of some kind of foggy glass. He frowned and swung his legs out of the strange mix of blankets and furs, making to stand. He hissed as his feet touched the ground. It was painfully cold- like ice. He peered down at it. 

It  _ was _ ice. The whole room was made of nothing but ice. He sighed. “Why is my life so fucking weird now?”

 

He took a deep breath and set his feet down, cringing as her stood and started walking gingerly from the room. He reached out and touched the wall as he moved through the doorway, just to check that it really was ice too. He withdrew his hand quickly at the cold, and paused as he watched his breath rise in front of him. 

 

“This sucks…” He growled, turning around and grasping a blanket from the bed and wrapping it around his shoulders.

 

He stomped through the hallway, noticing the tall windows. When he tried to look through the thin panes of…  _ is everything in this damn place made of ice _ … it looked as though there was nothing but white light. He glanced around himself and then quickly punched a hole in the pane, looking through it.  

 

Cold wind blasted through the newly made hole, making his face sting. He swore and brought the blanket up over his nose. The land around the weird elaborate Igloo he was in looked just like the photos he’d seen of antarctica in mid winter. Nothing for miles but snow and wind. 

 

He shuffled further into the strange structure, looking around for any sign of life. He shuffled through empty room after empty room, frowning at furniture carved from ice.  _ Who lives here? _ He thought, glaring at what looked like a frozen loveseat and coffee table. 

 

He was still glaring over his shoulder at it when he bumped into a tall, solid something. HE turned around, grabbing it in order to prevent it- his brain jumped to a lamp for whatever reason- from falling over. 

 

The result was that he wound up with his arms wrapped around the hooded figure that he had thought he hallucinated. 

 

It turned slowly toward him, and he pulled his arms back slowly. “Uh,” He swallowed thickly and looked around himself. “Sorry, uh, Devil, your highness,”

 

Hands came up and unfastened the buttons on either side of his hood in front of the antlers that protruded from either side of his head, and he pulled it back.

 

The antlers, it turned out, were actually parts of a crown that was resting on the head of a very, very attractive dark haired young man with hooded eyes and a lazy smirk. He pulled out a pipe, pushing his cape open as he did and revealing that he was dressed in comfortable looking clothes, with fleece lined boots and some strange strappy leather harness that was keeping up a bag on his hip. From that bag he pulled out a little sachet of herbs and began packing the pipe. His dark eyes slid over Naruto, who leaned back and drew the blanket closer around himself, lifting his left foot off the ground and wincing slightly at the way his toes felt.

 

“I was expecting you to sleep longer, I was just about to bring you some slippers… Which,” He glanced down at Naruto’s purple feet, “That’s gotta hurt. What a pain, here, I’ve got some shoes you can borrow in my quarters,”

 

The man flared his cape out, throwing it over Naruto’s shoulders. He shivered slightly. “Who’re you?” He asked sharply, switching his feet and squinting up at the man in the crown. He sighed, bringing the pipe to his lips and lighting it with a match before shaking the flame out and dropping the charred little stick on the floor. The air was suddenly filled with the warm smell of cloves burning. 

 

“Shikamaru,” He said, “But I think I liked ‘The Devil’ just as much,”

 

“Why am I here?”

 

“You were freezing to death out there,” Shikamaru said, an edge to his voice, “I wish you’da stayed in bed,” He took a long drag of his pipe and squinted down at Naruto, “I was thinking about how I was gonna explain all this to you,”

 

“You were planning it out?” Naruto said, hissing and switching his feet again. Shikamaru shot him a little crooked smile. 

 

“I plan everything out. Nothing surprises me. Well,” He winked at Naruto, “Gotta admit you surprised me a little, a human, out on the outskirts of my territory, barefoot. Which, lets go fix that,”

 

Naruto frowned. He didn’t like that. Something about that... But his feet  _ hurt _ , so he let Shikamaru guide him through another hallway and into a massive room. Still icy, but with wooden furniture, and an even larger bed than Naruto had woken up in. Still covered in enough furs and blankets to clothe a zoo, and very, very comfortable looking. Shikamaru gestured for him to sit on it, and he hesitated, eyeing him.

 

“You said that was your bed,” Naruto snapped. Shikamaru eyed him, taking another long, drawn out drag from his pipe. 

 

“Yeah, so?”

 

“You want me to-“

 

“Whoa there, your mind jumps to interesting places! Ah, I just thought you could sit there to get your feet off the floor, but if you wanna keep standing, by all means…” He said, withdrawing his cape from Naruto’s shoulders and striding over to his dresser. Naruto hesitated for another second before a throbbing pain in his foot made him jump into Shikamaru’s bed and tuck his feet under a particularly thick blanket. Shikamaru, although he wasn’t looking, smirked a little. Naruto made an expression at him that was definitely  _ not _ a pout.

 

“Ah, these’ll work,” Shikamaru said, grinning as he pulled out a pair of rabbit-fur moccasins and handed them to Naruto. He eyed them suspiciously.

 

“What do you want?” He asked sharply. Shikamaru looked a little taken aback.

 

“Huh?”

 

Naruto turned toward him. “Why am I in your ice castle? Are you kidnapping me? What’s your  _ plan _ here, since that’s apparently your schtick?”

 

Shikamaru blinked. “I wasn’t planning anything other than bringing you here so you didn’t freeze,” he shrugged, “like I said, you surprised me,” 

 

“Mm,”

 

“Listen. If you don’t want to stay,” He said, flopping down on the bed next to Naruto, “I’m not going to stop you from leaving. But you’re just a human, and I couldn’t just let you become a layer in the permafrost, okay? Don’t look into it too much,” He yawned and stretched, “do you have anywhere to be?”

 

“Yeah I do!” Naruto barked, snatching up the shoes Shikamaru had offered him and pulling them onto his feet before standing up, his blanket falling from his shoulders as he did so. The slippers were really comfortable, and made standing on the icy ground much more tolerable. Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow at him.

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“Where?”

 

Naruto froze. He looked around. There… There  _ had  _ been something. Something really, _ really  _ important… What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he remember? He brought his hand up and slowly ran his fingers through his hair. Shikamaru sat up, looking worried. 

 

“Oh… You can’t remember, huh?”

 

Naruto looked up at him, a little panicked. “It was so important! So so important! Why can’t I remember?”

 

Shikamaru peered into Naruto’s eyes, concern etched into his every feature. “It might be due to your loss of consciousness,” He pursed his lips for a second. “Maybe… maybe you should eat some food and take a nap. You look cold. It might help,”

 

Naruto looked at his hands, still wracking his brain for what he’d been running for. Or away from. “Okay,” He said, nodding. Shikamaru smiled and got back to his feet, grabbing a large pelt that looked like it had come from a bear and wrapping it around Naruto’s shoulders. “Alright then. Let’s go get some food in you,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four Walls (The Ballad Of Perry Smith), Bastille

**Author's Note:**

> Songs!
> 
> Gaara: Staying Up, The Neighbourhood 
> 
> Nart: Sweater Weather, The Neighbourhood


End file.
